Girl, 4, shoots & kills self while grabbing candy in grandma's purse

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) - A 4-year-old Florida girl has died after accidentally pulling the trigger of a gun when she reached into her grandmother's purse for candy.

Yanelly "Nelly" Zoller died Sept. 14 at the Tampa home of her grandparents, Michael and Christie Zoller.

Her 22-year-old father Shane Zoller told the Tampa Bay Times on Wednesday that she just wanted candy.

Tampa police told the newspaper they are investigating the case, but have no reason to doubt Zoller's story.

Shane Zoller says he was in high school when he became a father, and if his parents had not helped with Nelly, he would have had to drop out of school. He says Nelly was "attached to her nana's hip" and loved staying at her grandparents' house.

Zoller shared custody with the girl's mother.

A GoFundMe account and a YouCaring account – both filled with photos of the 4-year-old – have been set up to help pay for her funeral costs.

Police aren't saying who owned the gun involved in the shooting, but they do confirm it was owned legally.

“Right now, the case is still under investigation but everything we've looked at makes it appear as a tragic accident, so no charges at this point,” Tampa police spokesman Steve Hegarty told FOX 13 News. "We'll bring it over to the State Attorney's Office to make sure that they sign off on it, but like I said, all the signs seem to indicate it was just a terrible accident."